This is part of the Case Studies in Technology advertising supplement.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Ranked as one of the largest fast-food systems in the world, International Dairy Queen Inc. (IDQ) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire-Hathaway that services more than 5,600 Dairy Queen restaurants in the United States, Canada and other international locations. Despite a strong recipe for success, IDQ experienced challenges in its human resource department, with the company's locations handling many payroll processes manually using spreadsheets and a payroll service bureau.

To address the inefficiencies and need for consolidated workforce analytics, IDQ began looking for a unified HR solution that would simplify its administrative processes, centralize the company's information into one HR/payroll system and deliver rapid reporting for strategic decision-making.

After an extensive analysis, IDQ selected the solution that would best meet its corporate goals: Ultimate Software's UltiPro, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for human capital management.

With UltiPro's dynamic reporting capabilities, flexible setup, robust functionality and convenient SaaS delivery, Director of Human Resources Linda Mullenbach says the results have been significant -- benefiting the HR team and IDQ's 2,800 employees who work in more than 70 corporate store locations in the U.S.

"UltiPro gives us absolute visibility throughout the organization. We can generate analytics by store, by state or for the entire company," says Mullenbach. "For example, UltiPro's reports provided valuable insight to enhance our benefit plans and create greater cost efficiencies. With our multi-location workforce, I don't know how we functioned without the type of business intelligence tools we have now."

"Like Night and Day"

Reporting also has greatly improved for IDQ's HR team because of UltiPro's flexible setup. Subsidiaries or stores can be organized as unique component companies, and relevant information can be conveniently consolidated for accurate reporting or payroll. The company benefits from one centralized payroll, and authorized users can access and update information from any DQ location.

"Compared to our previous provider, processing payroll now is like day and night," says Mullenbach.

"We can process payroll centrally and have everything we need for reporting. We also use UltiPro's roles-based security to give our stores access to their employees' information. This self-service feature enables each store manager to answer questions, input new hires and update job changes or terminations," Mullenbach explains.

Through Ultimate's unique SaaS delivery, IDQ was also able to more easily deploy new features it didn't have previously and empower the entire organization with a self-service portal -- providing administrators with remote access to the system, introducing employee self-service for its workforce and implementing enhanced functionality for recruitment and performance management.

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"UltiPro through SaaS is really the perfect solution for managing human capital. We can accomplish tasks using the Internet from either home or office, we get cutting-edge functionality and there are no software maintenance worries. I love it because I can focus on my primary goal: to serve our employees," says Mullenbach.

A Single Point Of Contact

Ultimate's SaaS model provides total accountability with fewer points of contact. When questions arise, IDQ's users have immediate access to Ultimate's knowledgeable staff, a single point of contact -- available 24/7 -- rather than depending on many different vendors.

"The customer support is great, which I attribute to the culture at Ultimate," says Mullenbach. "Dedication to service radiates throughout the organization. Ultimate's people are so positive, and their commitment to the UltiPro solution is demonstrated every single day."

Building on its innovative franchising and turning the corner into the 21st century, IDQ is now facing the future with new advantages for the entire company.